That Ship Has Sailed
by oneoffour111
Summary: Rachel tells Percy something she’s never told anyone before. What will he reply? Indirect Percabeth. R&R, please!


**A/N: Written for the amazing pjo_fic_battle community over on Livejournal, with the prompt **_**Percy & Rachel, that ship has sailed**_**. I would highly suggest checking it out and reading all the incredible fanfiction people post. :]**

**Thanks **_**icy roses**_** for beta-ing. I couldn't have done it without her. Everyone should read her beautiful stories! **

**On with the story…**

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Summary: Rachel tells Percy something she's never told anyone before. What will he do? Indirect Percabeth. R&R, please!_

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That Ship Has Sailed  
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He's walking. He doesn't know where in the forest outside of Camp Half-Blood he is, and he doesn't know where he's headed. All he knows is regret and the scene that caused it.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"_Ta-da! So, what do you think?" Annabeth motioned excitedly toward the design plans of Percy and Annabeth's future home, set to be ready by the time their honeymoon ended. "Well?"_

_Percy's mouth dropped. For a moment, he could only stare at the plans. What was she thinking? The building was immensely grand and featured bulky columns along the entire perimeter of the house, if one could call it a house. He didn't want to say he didn't like it, but it truly was not her best work. But he also couldn't claim to be a master of tact... "Well, I think it's pretty impressive you made all this yourself," Percy stalled._

"_Percy, you've seen much bigger projects of mine than this. What do you really think?"_

"_Um, it's a tad, I don't know, heavy. These columns, well, we don't really need those. And it's very boxy."_

_Annabeth deflated. "Boxy? What do you mean?"_

"_I don't know, it's just...boxy," Percy floundered. "Please," he prayed silently. "Let her stop now..."_

_No such luck. "Percy, _what do you mean_? I spent days working on these plans. If you have a problem with them, please, tell me what it is!"_

_Percy pulled a face. "Annabeth, I don't know what to say! It kinda...it looks like a museum. A boxy one. It's, well, ugly! And if you know me, you should have known I wouldn't like this. So why did you put me on the spot?"_

"_Excuse me? So now it's my fault?" Percy shrugged. Annabeth snorted in disgust. "Ugh, does the world revolve around you, Mr. Big Hero? I put so much time into this and you don't care. I _thought_ I knew you, but obviously there's more arrogance in you than I thought. Maybe--maybe I don't know you after all, huh? Well, that's it. From now on, I don't care either. Design your own house." And with that, Annabeth stalked off._

_Stunned, Percy stood. He looked down at the abandoned plans and at the water and sand around him. He hadn't meant to come off like that, but she... Shock turned into anger; he yelled. He hadn't done anything to deserve that! The sea grew higher and higher, the waves crashing into one another. _

_Then suddenly, it stopped. Percy sat back down. He was empty; at that moment, Percy couldn't have made even the tiniest crest roll out of the ocean. For a while, he didn't even have the strength to move._

_Eventually, he got up and started walking. But he was so accustomed to having Annabeth's support backing him up, he felt as if he was walking on crutches._

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

He is still wandering around the woods, nursing his open wound and halfway wishing a monster would come so he could let out his feelings in a somewhat-healthy way. The visitor who meets him, however, is quite different.

"Percy?" Rachel tentatively asks, "Is that you?"

He stops. "Yeah."

"You don't look so good," she notes.

"I don't feel so good," he replies.

She brushes aside her curly, dramatic hair. "What happened?"

"Long story," he says brusquely.

"You can tell me. I mean, I'm your friend, right?" She sits and pulls him down with her.

"Yeah, you are," he confirms. So he tells her the whole story.

When he reaches the end, Rachel leans back. "But you two are engaged! What's going to happen now?"

"I don't know. One fight isn't going to ruin everything, is it?" He looks like a scared little boy, staring into the face of his future.

Rachel looks hesitant, then tilts her head. "Percy, the truth is...I can't tell you what's going to happen between you and Annabeth, Oracle or not. But I can tell you something else. Something I've been keeping secret for years, something I haven't told anyone else. I--I'm still in love with you."

Percy looks up and opens his mouth to speak, but Rachel raises her hand. "Hear me out. I know I said," she cringes, "that our fates weren't intertwined, but I was wrong. I thought we were done, but we don't have to be. All these years I've been trying to fool myself into thinking you were just a friend, nothing more. It hasn't worked. And I can't live keeping this secret anymore. I know the Oracle isn't supposed to be in love, but I'm willing to give that up for you. I love you."

Badly shaken for the second time in a day, Percy grimaces. At first he doesn't know how to respond. But suddenly, confronted by this new development in his story, Percy knows what to do. "Rachel, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you feel that way, and...I'm sorry I don't. Annabeth is my fiancée. Leaving her now would be like Hollywood, and everyone around here knows I don't do Hollywood. I love Annabeth. I know we'll be okay. So Rachel, you and me...that ship has sailed."

Unbidden tears spill over onto Rachel's freckled cheeks. "Yeah, I know it. I foresaw bits of it. Sometimes I hate being the Oracle, having spooky premonitions of stuff I don't at all want to happen. But it's my destiny. Thanks for listening, Percy. By the way, you _will_ make up with Annabeth. She's at the pegasus stables right now; go talk to her."

Percy stands up. "Okay. I will." He starts walking, then turns around. "And, Rachel--"

"Mmm?"

"Thanks for understanding."

Rachel nods, and Percy turns away again. He knows, right at that moment, that even though he and Rachel's ship had sailed, Annabeth was still waiting at the dock. He would find her and apologize, and life would go on as it did before. Even though Percy and Annabeth have their arguments, he knows their ship is unsinkable.


End file.
